For my birthday, my family treated me to a feast of Maryland-style steamed blue crabs at Pinchers Crab Shack (http://www.pincherscrabshack.com/lakewood-ranch/). We shared two dozen of the crabs, which were steamed with Maryland's Old Bay spice. The crabs were delicious, although we would have preferred a bit more Old Bay.

The blue crabs are steamed live. When they are cooked and served, the diners pick the crab meat out of the shell. Small wooden or metal mallets are used to crack the crab claws. Extracting the meat, especially from the body and especially for smaller crabs, can be a slow process for some like me. However, it's worth the effort.

The meat in the main portion of the crab is much tastier than the claw meat. The best meat is jumbo lump meat from large crabs. The crabs we were served were mostly medium sized. I learned later from friends that diners can request larger crabs, which are more expensive.

Steamed crab prices range from $5.99 for a single crab to $89.99 for two dozen. The crabs are obtained locally and are not always available.

We also had a few appetizers like grouper nuggets ($9.99), and hot crab and cheese dip ($8.99). I had a cup of crab and corn chowder ($3.99). All of these items were delicious.

In a return visit to Pinchers in October 2012, my wife and I tried their jumbo lump crab cakes. These were not jumbo lump crab cakes in the Maryland style. In other words, the crab cakes did not have lumps of crab meat. They might have started with jumbo lump meat and then processed it into a mushy patty. The crab cakes did not have much if any filler and they tasted ok, but they were not the sort of great crab cakes you'd find at a restaurant like G&M Restaurant in Linthicum Heights, MD.

The baked beans side I had with the crab cakes was terrific. The cole slaw was fresh, but lacked zip.

At the start of the meal, we were all given an amuse-bouche of a cold soup that was called a Maltese gazpacho. It had a small bit of a kick. One of the main spices was cumin. It was accompanied by poppy-seed grissini.

My wife's first course was Velouté of Green Asparagus accompanied by a goat cheese crostini. The wine that was supposed to accompany it was a Sauvignon Blanc. However, my wife requested and received a wine that went with another first course. It was a Nonvintage Gruet New Mexico Blanc Des Noirs sparkling wine.

My first course was a crab and clam bisque with oysters and roasted corn. I was mistakenly served the Sauvignon Blanc rather than the Gruet sparkling wine. The waiter quickly brought the Gruet, but left the Sauvignon Blanc for me to drink. This was first wine I've had from New Mexico. The wine was decent, but I probably would not buy it.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Last Monday, I prepared a mostly Japanese meal, with help from my wife and my sister. The objective of this meal was to introduce a couple of Japanese dishes to my niece who will be moving to Japan with her husband for a tour with the U.S. Navy. We had three Japanese dishes and American desserts.

The main course was Okonomiyaki. It was accompanied by Miso Soup and Sunomono. The dessert was a non-Japanese combination of mango kiwi tart and cookies.

Okonomiyaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki) is a wonderful dish that means something like "what you like - cooked." It is a sort of dinner pancake that can have a wide mix of ingredients - things like pork, shrimp, corn, bacon, potatoes, etc., etc.

There are at least two styles - one from the Osaka area and one from the Hiroshima area. The Hiroshima style adds a layer of noodles. I have never had the Hiroshima style. My wife, my daughter, and I have enjoyed Okonomiyaki many times when we lived in Japan.

Although my wife normally makes this dish at home, I tried making it on this occasion. It is very straightforward and relatively easy to make. We use a modified version of a recipe from a book entitled, "Japanese-Style Family Recipes" by Hiroko Urakami and published by Kodansha in 1992. The book was a gift from our daughter.

We modified the recipe by adding corn, omitting pork strips, using frozen salad shrimp rather than dried shrimp, and omitting dried bonito flakes/seaweed. (These modifications would all be fine in Japan.)

We also increased the amount of ingredients by to serve more people. The version below contains 25% less of all the ingredients than the version I made. The version below would probably serve six-eight diners.

1. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out any large seeds. Slice crosswise into very thin slices.

2. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger. Mix well. Place cucumbers in the bowl and stir well so that cucumbers are coated with the mixture. Refrigerate the bowl of cucumbers for at least one hour before serving.

Miso Soup

We took the easy way out on this dish. We used Kikkoman instant Tofu-Spinach Miso Soup, which we purchased at an oriental store in the Gulf Gate area of Sarasota. Each package of this soup contains three individual packets of soup. For one serving, you put the ingredients of a packet into a small bowl and pour in hot water. It tastes very good if you like Miso Soup, which we do.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Tonight, my wife and I and four friends enjoyed a terrific meal at Roessler's restaurant (http://www.roesslersrestaurant.com/), which was founded in 1978 and established at its current location in 1985. It is still operated by the Roessler family, and the chef, Klaus Roessler, is the son of the founder, Klaus A. Roessler, who immigrated to the U.S. from Germany.

My wife and I and three of our friends started with the crispy fried Maine lobster tail with jicama slaw and chipotle dipping sauce. It was faaaantastic!!!!

My wife's main course was veal piccata. She loved it.

My main course was bouillabaisse with jumbo lump crab, scallops, mussels, shrimp, and fish with garlic toast. It was mouth-wateringly delicious.

Several of our friends had the Hawaiian butterfish with lemon white wine butter sauce, fresh herbs, and toasted almonds. They said it was wonderful. The menu stated that the fish was "fresh from Hawaii via FedEx."

Unlike many American versions of this dish, the original recipe does not include cream. The only ingredients are fettuccine, butter, and parmesan cheese. (I used Italian-made parmegiano reggiano cheese and fresh fettuccine pasta.)

1. Cook the fettuccine noodles in 1 gallon of salted boiling water for 3 minutes

2. At the same time, mix the butter at room temperature in a bowl with the grated cheese until the cheese almost dissolves, forming a smooth cream. If using a mixer, this should not take more than 3 minutes, at which time the noodles will be ready.

3. Strain the pasta, leaving just a small amount of water, and toss the noodles with the Alfredo sauce. Plate the preparation.

Preparation- Chop cooked shrimp into small pieces and place in a large bowl.- Squeeze lemon and lime juice over the shrimp- Add chopped celery, green onions, dill, mayonnaise, and pepper. Mix well- Refrigerate for 2 hours to allow flavors to combine.- Bring to room temperature for 15 minutes before serving